The embodiments of the autonomous biobuoy and method disclosed herein generally relate to assessing the environmental characteristics of a marine environment.
It is desirable to assess the environmental characteristics of a marine environment. For example, for health reasons, it is desirable to test for presence of toxins in bodies of water, such as lakes, streams, rivers and oceans. A possible technique for detecting presence of environmental toxins in water may beneficially use the phenomenon of bioluminescence.
Bioluminescence is light generated by a chemical reaction within an organism, such as a marine organism, wherein chemical energy is converted into light energy. The chemical that produces the light is luciferin, which the organism acquires by diet or by internal synthesis. A chemical known as luciferase catalyzes the oxidation of luciferin to produce the light.
Examples of marine organisms that evince bioluminescence include dinoflagellates and zooplankton. Dinoflagellate “blooms” (i.e., population congregations so dense that they discolor ocean water red or brown to form so-called “red tides”) of these organisms have been observed to degrade water quality and produce toxins harmful to other marine organisms. Such toxins can even affect humans such as by paralytic shellfish poisoning. It is known that bioluminescence diminishes in the presence of toxic chemicals. However, a problem in the art is lack of a suitable device to sense bioluminescence as an aid in detecting toxins in water.
Moreover, it is desirable to study the phenomenon of bioluminescence over an extended time to determine how the size of populations of bioluminescent organisms varies over time. It is also desirable to determine how populations of bioluminescent organisms vary with respect to changes in water temperature and water clarity. While some oceanographic studies focused on the distribution of bioluminescence in the marine environment, there is still inadequate understanding of its seasonal characteristics. Prior art studies were limited in duration (e.g., usually less than one or two years with long intervals between sets of measurements) as well as in methods to quantify bioluminescence. Quantifying bioluminescence over time and with respect to water temperature and water clarity may assist in determining seasonal variation in levels of toxicity in the marine environment. Another problem in the art is lack of a suitable device to quantify marine bioluminescence over time and with respect to water temperature and clarity.
In addition, it is desirable conduct such extended duration studies unattended. The prior art appears to lack devices for extended duration study of bioluminescence in a marine environment independent of boats or aerial means (e.g., helicopter or airplane) that would otherwise remain tethered to the device for gathering data and supplying power to the device. Therefore, yet another problem in the art is lack of a suitable device to autonomously conduct extended duration marine studies of bioluminescence.